A 25 year old, Zak is 2-0 with 2 KOs. The resident of Ashdod, Israel has been particularly impressive in his first two professional fights. He completely dominated Darshan Singh in May in Zak's debut. Three weeks later, he forced Mukkhiddin Rajapbaev to quit after the first round. Trainer Artur Zlatopolsi has Zak ready to face a tough opponent in his third career bout.
Chvarkou's 6-25 record isn't stellar, but it's actually an indicator that the 39 year old can fight. Born in the Soviet Union in what is now Kazakhstan, Chvarkou represents Belarus and lives in Poland. He turned pro in 2016 and has been in tough ever since.
Standing about 6'4", Chvarkou is the consummate B-sider. His main goal is not to be knocked out, so he can fight again quickly. If he feels like he can win, he'll try, but if the opponent becomes too dangerous, Viktar will fight to survive. Early in his career, he opened up more and targeted the body. Evgeny Romanov clobbered him with a hellacious left hook in Chvarkou's second pro fight, earning a third round stoppage victory.
Georgia will be the ninth country Chvarkou has traveled to, fighting hometown favorites all along the way. In his third fight, the judges stole the bout from him and awarded it to Zamig Atakishiyev. It's not the only time he has been on the wrong side of a bad decision.
Trained by Andrej Gronovs, Chvarkou knows how to survive. He understands distance and mostly avoids the midrange. On the outside, he paws with the jab and looks to land counter rights. On the inside, he holds, especially against tall British heavyweight prospects such as Tommy Fletcher, Luis Wright, and Lewis Williams. The Belarussian isn't adverse to using foul tactics when needed and was disqualified for intentional headbutts in a 2019 bout against Christian Thun that Viktar was winning.
Chvarkou has lasted the distance against some known opponents. He heard the bell both times he fought Callum Johnson, who once knocked down Artur Beterbiev. He has only been stopped three times: in his second fight against Romanov, due to an injured right hand against Nelson Hysa, and against Arlo Stephens he was caught cold in the first by a looping right hand that he didn't see.
Unless he thinks he can win, Chvarkou will approach this contest against Zak cautiously. He just lost a decision last week and has a fight scheduled for September. He presents a challenge for the young prospect, though. The veteran is going to try to muck things up on the inside and stay out of range on the outside. It's up to Zak to find the right punches to stop the tough Belarussian. Chvarkou drops his hands a bit when he throws, which could leave him open to Zak's counters, but Yan will most likely need to lead in this contest. Combinations that start with jabs or hooks to the body and end with rights to the chin, could be the ticket for Zak.
This bout is scheduled for six rounds in the cruiserweight division.
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